ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — The Yankees expected Thursday to provide a quiet reset between playoff rounds. Instead, their trip to Tampa became a nine-hour travel ordeal that left one pitcher as the target of some clubhouse teasing before the American League Division Series.
A hydraulic problem kept the Yankees on their charter at Westchester County Airport for roughly 4 1/2 hours. Players had arrived around 2:30 p.m. They eventually left the disabled aircraft, boarded buses for LaGuardia Airport and did not reach their Tampa hotel until about 1 a.m.
The delay turned a routine travel day into an unusual test of patience. It also gave Ryan Weathers enough material to single out Paul Blackburn when reporters asked which Yankee handled the disruption least comfortably.
Weathers puts Blackburn in the spotlight
Ryan Weathers spent part of the delay sitting with Blackburn, Brent Headrick and Will Warren. The four pitchers passed time on a Nintendo Switch, rotating through Rocket League and Mario Kart while the Yankees waited for word on whether the original plane could depart.
Weathers made the group sound relaxed for most of the wait.
“We were just hanging out,” Weathers said.
That changed when the conversation turned to the most agitated traveler. Weathers immediately pointed to Blackburn and described a side of the veteran reliever that teammates apparently had not seen often during the season.
“I’ve never seen Paul that rattled,” Weathers said.
Weathers also labeled Blackburn “grumpy” and joked that pizza on the replacement flight restored his mood.
Blackburn pushed back when informed of his teammate’s account. He disputed that he had been unusually sour and accused Weathers of embellishing the story for effect, saying his teammate was trying to stir the pot.
The exchange appeared to be clubhouse ribbing rather than a genuine dispute. It still offered a candid snapshot of the Yankees dealing with an uncontrollable disruption before facing Tampa Bay.
Boone sees Yankees keep the mood light
Aaron Boone also moved through the plane during the delay to check on players and staff. The Yankees manager said the cabin remained comfortable enough and that the club found ways to occupy the time.
Players studied the Rays, played cards and video games, and watched the Braves-Phillies postseason game and Thursday night football on their phones. Boone also joked with flight attendants while the Yankees waited for updates.
His broader assessment was that the club did not allow the problem to become bigger than it was.
“World problems,” Boone said.
Boone’s point was that the Yankees had experienced an inconvenience, not a crisis.
Gerrit Cole, scheduled to start ALDS Game 1, joked about the strange geography of the trip because the buses first carried the Yankees away from Tampa before the replacement flight finally moved them south.
Blackburn enters October after career-best Yankees season
The airport joke landed because Blackburn has become a valued member of the Yankees pitching staff.
The Yankees re-signed the right-hander to a one-year contract in January after he finished 2025 in their bullpen. Blackburn then produced one of the best seasons of his career in 2026, going 7-3 with a 1.69 ERA and 1.07 WHIP across 57 appearances and 79 2/3 innings. He struck out 66.
That performance gave Boone a multi-inning relief option for October. Blackburn was one of 10 pitchers carried as the Yankees swept Boston by a combined 18-2.
Weathers entered the week in a different position. The 26-year-old left-hander finished the regular season 5-8 with a 3.60 ERA, 143 strikeouts and a 1.22 WHIP in 137 1/3 innings, but a left forearm flexor strain interrupted his season.
The Yankees left Weathers off the Wild Card roster after he threw live batting practice. Boone said before the Boston series that Weathers could become a difference-maker in a later round, leaving open the possibility of an ALDS role.
As of Oct. 2, the Yankees had not publicly finalized that decision. Blackburn was already established in the October bullpen while Weathers was still trying to force his way back onto the active postseason roster.
Yankees arrive for serious test after unserious dispute
The stakes become considerably higher Saturday night. Cole is set to face Drew Rasmussen in Game 1 at Tropicana Field, with the Yankees trying to carry momentum from their emphatic sweep of Boston into an AL East rematch.
Cole finished the regular season 10-9 with a 3.61 ERA and 131 strikeouts. Rasmussen went 16-5 with a 2.67 ERA and 174 strikeouts.
Tampa Bay won seven of 13 regular-season meetings with New York, although the Yankees took four of the final five. Cam Schlittler is lined up behind Cole after throwing 6 1/3 scoreless innings with 10 strikeouts in the Wild Card opener against Boston.
By the time the Yankees worked out Friday, the broken charter had become more story than problem. The club had reached its destination, Cole had his normal preparation day and Boone had no indication that the delay would alter the pitching plan.
Blackburn, meanwhile, left the episode with a new clubhouse label he clearly did not accept. Weathers got the laugh. Blackburn got the rebuttal. The Yankees now have a much more consequential argument to settle against the Rays.
What do you think? Leave your comment below.
